Getting Started: Build & Run TestRTS

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11 x64
• Visual Studio 2022 with the Desktop development with C++ workload (C++20 required)
• Git with submodule support
• PowerShell 5.1 or later (built into Windows)

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First-Time Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/jlfarris91/PhoenixSim.git
cd PhoenixSim

If you cloned without --recurse-submodules, initialize the vcpkg submodule manually:

git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Run the bootstrap script

The bootstrap script installs all required tooling (CMake, Ninja) and bootstraps vcpkg:

.\build\bootstrap.ps1

This will:

• Install CMake and Ninja via winget if not already present
• Bootstrap vcpkg (the vcpkg/ submodule) by compiling the vcpkg binary

Note: The script requires an internet connection and winget (available by default on Windows 11 and recent Windows 10).

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Building

Configure and build (command line)

cmake --preset windows
cmake --build .build/windows --config Release

Dependencies are fetched and compiled automatically by vcpkg on the first configure — this takes a few minutes. Subsequent builds are fast.

Open in Visual Studio

After running the configure step above:

1. Open Visual Studio 2022
2. File → Open → CMake… and select the root CMakeLists.txt
3. Visual Studio will detect the windows preset automatically
4. Select Release from the configuration dropdown and build (Ctrl+Shift+B)

Open in VS Code

Install the CMake Tools extension, open the repo folder, and select the windows preset when prompted.

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Running TestRTS

After a successful Release build:

.build\windows\tests\TestRTS\Release\TestRTS.exe

From Visual Studio, set TestRTS as the startup project and press F5.

TestRTS is an RTS sandbox that exercises the full engine stack: spawning units, physics, steering, abilities, effects, and the Lua scripting layer. It uses SDL3 for windowing and Dear ImGui for the debug overlay.

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Emscripten Build (WebAssembly)

The Emscripten build compiles all library targets — including PhoenixScript and PhoenixLua — to WebAssembly. TestRTS and the code-generation tools are excluded (they are native-only host executables).

1. Install EMSDK. The bootstrap script can do this for you — check build/bootstrap.ps1 for details, or install manually to $HOME\.emsdk.
2. Activate EMSDK so EMSDK is in your environment.
3. Configure and build:

cmake --preset emscripten
cmake --build --preset EmscriptenRelease

Output is in .build/wasm/.

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Project Structure

PhoenixSim/
├── src/
│   ├── PhoenixSim/         # Core engine (ECS, Session, Features, LDS, memory, threading)
│   ├── PhoenixPhysics/     # 2D physics integrated with ECS
│   ├── PhoenixSteering/    # Pathfinding and steering behaviors
│   ├── PhoenixRTS/         # RTS gameplay systems (units, abilities, orders, effects)
│   ├── PhoenixScript/      # WASM runtime host (wasm3 wrapper, FeatureScript)
│   └── PhoenixLua/         # Lua scripting bridge (FeatureLua, LuaWasmEnvironment)
├── tests/
│   └── TestRTS/            # Interactive RTS sandbox application
├── vcpkg/                  # vcpkg submodule (package manager)
├── build/                  # Build scripts (bootstrap.ps1, build_local.ps1)
├── docs/                   # Documentation
├── CMakeLists.txt
└── CMakePresets.json

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Common Issues

vcpkg package build fails on first run Make sure Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ workload is installed — vcpkg uses MSVC to compile dependencies.

cmake --preset windows says preset not found You need CMake 3.21+. Run cmake --version to check; re-run the bootstrap script to install the latest version.

TestRTS crashes on startup Check that you built in Release or RelWithDebInfo — Debug builds require the debug CRT and may conflict if mixing configurations.